Khyber Pass

Tonight, I headed to Khyber Pass as I knew it was open and still have to clean my kitchen to cook and I've been trying to get there. Rugs everywhere, on the walls, on the ceiling, nice music piped in as well but not too loud, and the feel of the place was very light and airy even with all the rugs everywhere.

The meal started with half of a whole wheat pita and their cilantro/walnut chutney. Tangy and complex. I loved it.

Then they brought me my meal, a vegetarian platter with a spinach curry and a small curried potato next to each other on a bed of basmati rice, with a tomato and cucumber salad on the side. The spinach was cooked whole and texture wise like any other curry, but the flavorings were definitely not Indian. The potato reminded me of something my mom would make from childhood, but I couldn't quite place it. It was like a vague hint of a memory. Both were quite tasty and unique though.

Unfortunately, I think one of their key ingredients in their curries is yogurt, though not always listed out. I only have the way that my body is reacting to the food that I ate to point to that suspicion, unless I have an allergy or intolerance I don't know about.

So while I positively loved the food here, and would recommend it to anyone else, I'm not sure I'll be returning any time soon. ETA: I did go back, and had something without yogurt. And it didn't make me sick. I think it was just that one ingredient.

Gardens of Salonica

Thursday, dinner was had at Gardens of Salonica in NE Minneapolis. Wrought iron and earth toned art decorates this lovely little spot. It's a little noisy, but still mostly enjoyable.

Our waiter we think had had a bit to drink. He was spilling things, forgetting things, and we did witness him drink a glass of wine at the bar.

But the food was quite delightful. I had a chicken souvlaki, tzatziki sauce on the side. It was cooked and spiced rather exactly and I enjoyed it. The tzatziki even had a bit of a spicy tang to it that was unusual and lovely.

PiC had the lamb souvlaki and seemed to enjoy his as much as I enjoyed mine. He also had the octapodi and loved it as well. To my eyes it looked a bit odd, complete with the suckers, but so long as he enjoyed it who am I to judge? :)

Dessert was one very small fig that had been braised in a port wine reduction. A simple bit of joy to end the meal. Mmmmmmmm fig.

This will definitely be a place for repeat business.

True Thai

Introduced PiC to True Thai last night, my favoritest thai restaurant in the Twin Cities. We had what I can only call "thai nachos", fried wonton sheets cut in triangles, and drizzled with sriracha, egg, bean sprouts, tofu, and cilantro. It was an unexpected presentation and delightful, actually, from when we ordered it.

And then I ordered my favoritest fried rice, the chili tamarind fried rice. And he agreed, it was the best he'd had. Om nom. I will have an awesome dinner again tonight with the leftovers.

Barbary Fig

Dinner was at Barbary Fig. Now, had I been there before I wouldn't have suggested it PiC's current state; he sprained his ankle a couple days ago. Because it would seem that most of the seating is upstairs. And outside. So we sat outside, even though there were periodic sprinkles. It amused me at least, and the umbrella was sufficient for keeping us mostly dry during the sprinkles. :)

I had the most awesome red wine from Algeria that they tell me I can't purchase anywhere. It breaks the little Tegan-heart. I may just have to go back again.

My dinner was a lamb/yam/fava bean/saffron rice dealy. His was a lamb sausage/yam/carmelized onion/couscous dealy. And we both liked what we had, though my dish could have used a little bit of salt. OH! And a delightful appetizer of roasted eggplant and feta cheese in a filo dough like shell. Kinda like a quesadilla. But not.